A realtor is a broker or sales agent for homes, property or real estate. The “R” on this device is a logo of a realty trade organization, at least here in the U.S., and maybe Canada. Or maybe nowhere else. I just saw it as a logo and didn’t even think of it as an “R-Phone”.

The pictured device, of course, isn’t even a phone at all. It’s a “key safe”, a lockbox that’s secured around the doorknob of a house being offered for sale. Many homes are listed thru multiple agents and this way only one set of keys needs to be locked in this box that can be opened by several realtors if they have the proper combination.

They can show the house to a prospective buyer and then just lock the keys back in the box when they’re done. This way there’s not dozens of keys for a property floating around in realtor offices and getting lost or stolen.

Ah, marvellous, a ‘merkin with language skills, been waiting a while for one of you types to come along – Could you explain why in the bloody blue blazes you feel the need to replace the perfectly serviceable (and short) word “Tap” with the uncessarily complicated (and longer) “Faucet”? It’s certainly not more efficient and, being longer/more complex, is more likely to be mis-spelt.

I find it odd as you normally prefer to simplify words rather than over-complicate them (i.e. aluminum/color, possibly in order to aid the hard-of-thinking) and surely having a longer word to say means less time for shoving burgers in your mouth?

And what about spigots? A water valve on the outside of a house is commonly called a spigot. Now if you’re dispensing water inside the house, that’s when you’d use a faucet. But if you’re in a bar, saloon, tavern or “pub”, you’d draw your beer from a tap.

Spigot. Sounds eastern European in origin to me. But then this place has been crawling with foreigners for the last couple hundred years or so.

And shouldn’t it be “shoving burgers in your gob”? Though I personally prefer the word “pie-hole”.

Well, I suppose there’s George Spiggott but don’t think he was particularly eastern European…

Anyway. When I want to ‘dispense’ water inside a house, I use a tap, a shower head or a leaking dishwasher.
When al fresco water dispensing is required I use a “tap” – seeing as it’s the same thing I don’t see why a different word is required.

I can only assume it’s because Americans have some obsession with mixer taps that leads them to think indoor and outdoor taps are so different they need a different word?

Leave a Reply

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website

TODAY'S TECHNOLOGY NEWS - REPRODUCED SLIGHTLY LATER ON

Gadgets and promotional photography from the tech world. Also some men with moustaches.